JAN 321 - Why Work? Finding Work’s Place in our Lives

Instructor(s):  Rozeboom, Grant
Email:  gjr5@stmarys-ca.edu

We spend most of our waking lives engaged in various forms of work. Sometimes it is meaningful, valued, chosen, and compensated. Sometimes not - sometimes it is boring, “invisible,” compulsory, and unpaid. But what all counts as work? When and why is it meaningful or valuable? When and why should it be freely chosen, or compensated? And most importantly: what role should it play in our lives? This course will provide you with experiences and conceptual tools for addressing these questions. You will learn how to think more clearly and deeply about what work is and how it should function in our lives. You will closely observe various forms of work, especially those that tend to be hidden and misunderstood, such as caretaking, custodial, creative, and administrative work. And you will engage in work - not just classwork (of course that!), but also the kinds of work that you often rely upon others to do for you, or that you hope to pursue in the future but haven’t been able to try for yourself. You’ll leave the course in a better position to understand and affirm whatever work you choose to pursue in your life. This course will meet in-person and will include a handful in-person trips to various worksites around campus and the Bay Area.

Prerequisites & Notes
None

Credits: 3-CU